ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. degree — from a university
  4. squash — to crush
  5. stem — to come from
  6. ground — a position
  7. squash — the sport
  8. degree — temperature
  9. pop — to visit
  10. cell — in biology
  11. degree — an amount
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. pop — music
  14. ground — crushed
  15. ground — the earth
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. sharp — clever
  18. bass — the fish
  19. pop — soda
  20. cell — a phone
  21. bass — low music
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. sharp — with an edge

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com